Loom harness



Oct. 9, 1945- J. J. KAUFMANN LOOM HARNESS Filed Dec. 5, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l f9 0 W n ig 0 Q Ms M, K Wu K 1 P.

I INVENTOR. 'Jo/m J4me Mama/N ATTORNEY Oct. 9, 1945. J. J. KAUFMANN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LOOM HARNESS Filed Dec. 5, 1944 I I $1224 24 v8 INVEN TOR.

Tic 5.

. M M F u m w m M M ,4 T TOR/VEV Patented Oct. 9, 1945 LOOM HARNESS John Jacob Kaufmann, Elkins Park, Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 5, 1944, Serial No. 566,655

8 Claims.

This invention relates to loom harness, and it relates more particularly to that type of harness, a form of which is shown and described in my previous Letters Patent No. 2,047,511, dated July 14, 1936. Such loom harness; while being of general application, is particularly useful in those installations where it is desired to insert the warp ends through the heddles by means of the automatic warp drawing-in machines which are now in more or less common use.

As was pointed out in my previous Letters Patent above referred to, when it is desired to employ warp drawing-in mechanism for automatically entering the warp, it is essential that the heddles be permitted entire freedom of movement upon their supporting rods, without being obstructed in any way by the devices which are commonly used in loom harness frames of the ordinary type for the purpose of supporting the heddle rods intermediate their ends. a

While the loom harness frames of the type shown and described in my previous Letters Patent have proved reasonably satisfactory, nevertheless, some difficulty has arisen by reason of careless handling of the frames by the operators and the C-shaped rods employed for supporting the heddles would become deformed in use, thereby rendering it difficult to release the heddle supporting rods from the intermediate supporting devices whenever it became necessary to remove the rods from the frame.

While my previous Letters Patent contained a suggestion, shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings of said patent, that the heddle supporting rods might be made of flat bar stock, nevertheless, this construction did not prove entirely satisfactory as no practical means for securing such heddle rods to the top and bottom rails of the heddle frame has heretofore been devised.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide heddle frames, of the character aforesaid, in which the rods for supporting the heddles are made f fiat bar stock, and which are so supported with respect to the top and bottom rails of the respective heddle frames as to be quickly and easily detached therefrom whenever it is desired to dismantle the frame for anypurpose.

The nature and characteristic features of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a loom h'arness frame embodying the main features of the present invention, the same being shown with heddles mounted thereon which are adapted for use in connection with an automatic warp drawingin machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, also enlarged, taken appproximately on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail, enlarged, of a portion of a heddle frame illustrating a modifled form of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6' is a, horizontal section taken approxi-- mately on the line 66 of Fig. 4.

It should of course be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the h'eddle frame proper may be of any preferred construction. For example, as shown, the same may comprise top and bottom rails l0 connected at their end by end struts II. The heddle supporting rods I! in this instance are made of strips of fiat bar metal extending from end to end of the frame, and each having its end portions extending through slots in the end struts I l of the frame in the usual and customary manner. Each of the projecting end portions of each heddle rod is also provided with the usual aperture l5, which is engaged by the hooked end of a spring retaining member l6 mounted in the end struts ll of the frame.

It will of course be understood that various other forms of retaining means at the ends of the heddle rods l2 may be used if desired, although it has been found that spring members of the character shownare quite satisfactory for the purpose.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings there is therein shown a preferred form of device for supporting the heddle rods l2 intermediate their ends. As there shown, the heddle rods l2 are provided, at each of the places. where a supporting device is disposed, with a plate member I! which is secured to the heddle rod by ineans of rivets I 8, and a spacing member 19 is interposed between the heddle rod 12 and the plate member I! for a purpose to be presently explained.

The plate member I! extends toward the rail of the frame from which the heddle rod is supported, and said plate member I1 is provided near the edge thereof with a longitudinal slot 20. The portion of the plate member 11 which is disposed between the slot 23 and the outermost margin of the plate member I1is disposed in a milled groove 21 on one side of the enlarged head portion 22 of a bolt member 23 which extends through the rail III of the frame.

The plate member I1 is also provided with a tongue portion 24 which extends from one of the end margins of the plate member l1, and is bent around and positioned in another groove 25 milled in the head portion 22 of the bolt member 23.

The bolt member 23 is provided at its outer end with a threaded portion 26, and this threaded portion is engaged by a complementally threaded sleeve 21. The sleeve 21 is provided with a flange 23 (see Fig. 4) on its inner end, and said flange 26 is confined between a washer 29, seated in a recess 30 in the rail, and a plate member 3| which is secured in the rail by means of screws 32.

The sleeve 21, mounted on the threaded end 26 of the bolt permits an adjustment of the bolt 23 in the frame to maintain the heddle supporting rods l2 in the frame at the proper distances apart. The screws 32 are tightened, after the adjustment is made, to maintain the bolt 23 in each instance in the proper adjusted positions.

The heddles 35 employed may be substantially the same as those shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of my Letters Patent No. 2,047,511, being preferably made from thin flat strips of metal of a width corresponding to the widest portion'of the heddie. The central portion 36 of each heddle 35 is preferably left the full width of the strip, as is also each end portion 31 thereof, but the parts 36 of the heddle 35 between the central portion 36 and the respective end portions 31 are preferably cut down to a considerably narrower width to reduce the weight of the installation, and to permiteach heddle 35 to be, turned as required for the functioning of the warp drawing-in machine.

The central portion 36 of the heddle 35 is prowarp eye 39, topermit the punching adjacent the warp eye 39, of a key hole slot 40, which is provided for installations in which the warp is entered by means of a warp drawing-in ma-' chine.

Each of the end portions 31 of each of the heddles 35 shown in Figs. 2 and of the drawings, which, as hereinbefore mentioned, is left the rod I 2 and fingers 44 on'the other side of said heddle rod 12 which engage the other face of said rod.

The slot 4| provided at each end of each heddle 35 is of a length greater than the width of the heddle rod I2 to permit the heddles 35 to have the usual and necessary slight up and down movement on the heddle rods, so that the heddles 35 may readily accommodate themselves to the slightly varying positions of the warp ends controlled thereby. The width of the opening 4| in the side of each end portion 31 of each heddle 35 is such that in the uppermost and lowermost positions of the heddles 35 on the rods l2 the fingers 44 will clear the spacing members is disposed between the heddle rods l2 and the supporting plate members 11.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 of the drawings, is substantially the same as the form hereinbefore described, with the single execption that the bolt head, instead of being enlarged and having milled out grooves, is made as illustrated in Fig. 5. As there shown the head portion 22a of the bolt member 230 is flattened and has its end bent around at right angles as at 45 to extend within the slot 23 of the plate member l1. In this instance the plate member is also provided with the bent around tongue portion 24 which serves to prevent the portion 45 of the head ofthe' bolt, which extends at right angles, from becoming disengaged from the slot 20 in the plate member I1 in the normal arrangement of the various parts.

In either of the forms it will be noted that the bent around tongue 24 of the plate member [1 terminates at such point as to permit the head of the bolt, in either form, to be disengaged from the slot 20 of the plate member l1, when the heddle supporting rod 12 has its end portions disengaged from the retaining hooks and is slid endwise a sufilcient distance, first to permit the plate members [1 carried by said heddle rod l2 to become disengaged from the head portions of the bolts, and thereafter to become disengaged from the end struts ll of the frame in which they are mounted.

'It will be seen that by the foregoing arrangement there is provided a simple and eflicient full width of the strip from which the heddle" is formed, is punched out to provide a slot H for mounting the heddles on the rods i2 and one side portion thereof is cut away as at 42 means for supporting the heddle rods intermediate their ends, which is so constructed and arranged as to permit the heddles to pass freely from one end to the other of the heddle rods without interference from the supporting means.

I claim:

1. In a m harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips removably mounted in said frame, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising, in each location, a plate member secured to the rod in spaced relationship, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails of the frame; said plate member and bolt member being in locked engagement with each other; and means carried by one of said members for normally maintaining the locked engagement of said parts.

2. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips removably mounted in said frame, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising in each location, a plate member secured to the rod in spaced relationship, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails and a tongue member carried by one of said parts for normally maintaining the engagement of said parts.

3. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips removably mounted in said frame, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising, in each location, a plate member secured to the rod in spaced relationship, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails of the frame; said plate member having a slot extending parallel to the rod, and the bolt member having a head portion engaging the plate member and provided with a part extending into the slot in the plate member, and means for normally maintaining the engagement of said head portion of the bolt with the plate member.

4. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips removably mounted in said frame, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof, comprisin in each location, a plate member secured to the rod in spaced relationship, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails of the frame; said plate member having a slot extending parallel to the rod, and the bolt member having a head portion engaging the plate member and provided with a part extending into the slot in the plate member; and a tongue member extending from a portion of the plate member in engagement with a part of the head portion of the bolt for normally maintaining the engagement of said head portion of the bolt with the plate member.

5. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips removably mounted in said frame, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising, in each location, a plate member secured to the rod in spaced relationship, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails of the frame; said plate member having a slot extending parallel to the rod, and the bolt member having a head portion engaging the plate the slot in the plate member; and a tongue member extending from one end of the plate member in engagement with a part of the head portion of the bolt for normally maintaining the engagement of said head portion of the bolt with the plate member.

6. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle suppo ting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips mounted in said frame and being removable therefrom by sliding lengthwise, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising, in each location, a member carried by the rod, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails of the frame; said members being normally in locked engagement with each other but being separable upon sliding the rod lengthwise.

7. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips mounted in said frame and being removable therefrom by sliding lengthwise, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising, in each location, a member carried by the rod, and a separate bolt member mounted in one of the rails of the frame; said members being normally in locked engagement with each other but being separable upon sliding the rod lengthwise, and means for maintaining the locked engagement of said members when the same are in their normal relative posimember and provided with a part extending into tions.

8. In loom harness including a heddle frame having top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin flat metallic strips mounted in said frame and being removable therefrom by sliding lengthwise, the means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising, in each location, a member secured to the rod, and a separate b'olt member mounted in one of the rails of'the frame; one

of said members being slotted and the other of said members having a portion engaging the slot to secure said members to each other, said members being separable upon sliding the rod lengthwise, and means for normally maintaining the locked engagement of said members.

. JOHN JACOB KAUFMANN. 

